A specially engineered chewing gum could offer an unexpected new weapon against viruses and bacteria linked to head and neck cancer. In laboratory tests using samples from cancer patients, researchers found that extracts from the gum reduced levels of human papillomavirus, or HPV, by as much as 93%. An enhanced version also nearly eliminated two harmful bacterial species while leaving beneficial bacteria unharmed.
The findings, reported in Scientific Reports, suggest that this experimental approach could eventually help prevent certain infections and support existing cancer treatments. Researchers believe the plant-based technology could also provide a more affordable option for patients.
The research was led by Henry Daniell of the University of Pennsylvania’s School of Dental Medicine. His team has been exploring ways to use specially engineered plants to produce proteins with potential medical benefits.
Why Scientists Are Targeting Cancer-Linked Microbes
Head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC) is a common form of cancer that develops in the tissues lining the mouth and throat. It begins in squamous cells, the thin, flat cells that cover many surfaces throughout the body. These cancers can be particularly difficult to treat once they have spread, and patients diagnosed at advanced stages often face poor outcomes.
According to Daniell, recently approved cancer medications have generally failed to produce major improvements in patients’ quality of life or their chances of surviving five years after diagnosis. This highlights the continuing need for more effective treatments and new strategies that could help prevent the disease or reduce complications.
One promising area of research involves the microorganisms living in the mouth. Although many oral microbes are harmless or beneficial, certain viruses and bacteria have been associated with the development or progression of head and neck cancers.
The researchers focused on three of these microbes. The first was HPV, a common virus that can cause certain cancers when infections persist. The other two were Porphyromonas gingivalis (Pg) and Fusobacterium nucleatum (Fn), bacterial species associated with oral disease and poorer outcomes in some cancer patients.
“The global increase in oropharyngeal cancer is linked to HPV infection,” says Daniell. “And Pg and Fn infections worsen survival rates of untreated recurrent or metastatic oral cancer, even after surgery and risk-adjusted adjuvant, or supplemental, therapies.”
Oropharyngeal cancer affects the middle portion of the throat, including areas such as the tonsils and base of the tongue. Metastatic cancer refers to cancer that has spread beyond its original location, while adjuvant treatments are additional therapies given to improve the effectiveness of primary treatment.
A Chewing Gum Made From Beans Delivers Surprising Results
The new study builds on the team’s earlier development of a chewing gum made from lablab beans (bean gum). This gum contains FRIL, a naturally occurring protein with antiviral properties.
To investigate its potential benefits, the scientists tested extracts from the gum against microbes found in oral samples collected from patients with head and neck cancer.
The results were striking. The bean gum extracts lowered HPV levels by 93% in saliva samples and by 80% in oral rinse samples. These findings suggest that proteins delivered through a chewing gum could potentially help reduce the presence of a virus associated with certain head and neck cancers.
The team then took the technology a step further by engineering the gum to contain protegrin, an antimicrobial peptide. Peptides are short chains of amino acids, the building blocks of proteins. Some antimicrobial peptides can attack and destroy harmful microorganisms, making them promising candidates for new infection treatments.
With this additional ingredient, the researchers found that a single dose of the engineered gum extract reduced the two targeted bacterial species, Pg and Fn, to almost undetectable levels.
Harmful Bacteria Nearly Disappear While Good Bacteria Survive
One of the most encouraging findings was the gum’s ability to target harmful bacteria without disrupting the beneficial microorganisms that naturally inhabit the mouth.
The oral microbiome, the community of bacteria and other microscopic organisms living inside the mouth, plays an important role in maintaining oral health. Many of these microbes coexist harmlessly with the body and help maintain a balanced environment.
Some cancer treatments can disturb that balance. Radiation therapy, for example, can reduce populations of beneficial oral bacteria while encouraging the growth of potentially harmful yeast, including Candida albicans.
In contrast, the experimental gum extract sharply reduced the targeted bacteria without affecting the beneficial bacterial populations examined by the researchers. This selectivity could be especially valuable for patients whose oral health has already been affected by cancer or its treatment.
Importantly, the results came from laboratory testing of patient samples rather than clinical trials in which people chewed the gum. Further research will be needed to determine whether the same effects occur in the human mouth and whether reducing these microbes can meaningfully improve cancer outcomes.
Could Chewing Gum Become Part of Cancer Prevention and Treatment?
The researchers believe their findings justify moving the technology toward human clinical trials, particularly because head and neck cancers remain a serious global health challenge.
“Lip and oral cavity cancer was the seventh leading cancer type in cancer incidence and mortality rate worldwide in adolescents, young adults, and middle-aged adults in 2022,” says Daniell. “Our findings support the value of advancing these therapies to clinical trials as adjuvants with current treatments or as prophylaxis to prevent infection and transmission.”
Prophylaxis refers to measures taken to prevent disease or infection before it occurs. In this case, the researchers envision a future in which specially designed chewing gum might help limit exposure to harmful microbes or reduce their levels in people already receiving cancer treatment.
Such an approach could offer a relatively simple and potentially inexpensive way to deliver protective proteins directly into the mouth, where the targeted microorganisms are found.
For now, the technology remains experimental, and there is no evidence yet that chewing the gum prevents or treats cancer in humans. Nevertheless, the ability to substantially reduce HPV and nearly eliminate two cancer-associated bacterial species in laboratory tests offers a promising starting point for further investigation.
If future clinical trials confirm its safety and effectiveness, a familiar everyday product could become an unexpected addition to the medical toolkit against dangerous oral infections and cancers.
Henry Daniell is the W.D. Miller Professor in the Department of Basic & Translational Sciences at the School of Dental Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania.
Other authors are Geetanjali Wakade, Rahul Singh, and Smruti Nair of Penn Dental Medicine; Andrés M. Bur and Sufi M. Thomas of the University of Kansas Medical Center; Eri S. Srivatsan and Marilene B. Wang of the University of California at Los Angeles; and Saroj K. Basak of the Veterans Administration Greater Los Angeles Healthcare System.
This work was supported by NIH (grant 5-R01-HL 107904-13 awarded to Henry Daniell), the Academic Senate Grant of David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA (the Surgical Education Research program), and National Cancer Institute Cancer Center (Support Grant P30 CA168524).